What better way to give the girls and women of the world a voice than by giving them a worldwide platform on which to broadcast the issues that matter to them? That’s exactly the thinking behind ONE’s innovative new campaign called “Girls & Women.” The campaign seeks to “unleash the full potential of girls” by showcasing stories with women at their center.

Women have long been disproportionately affected by poverty; of the most impoverished people across the globe, more than 60 percent are female. Empowering women in developing countries to become full-fledged economic participants is crucial to eliminating poverty, but it begins by solving the social issues behind unequal access to education, employment and financial resources. Putting gender inequality in the spotlight is the first step to achieving equality.

ONE’s new “Girls & Women” initiative seeks to bring about equality by allowing different female “curators” from around the world to share their stories. The very first curator is Phiona Mutesi, a young Ugandan chess prodigy who has used her talent to help her family rise from poverty. On the same page that features stories about female entrepreneurs and resources for female empowerment, Phiona chose to share articles about how she personally escaped slum life, and some of the highlights of her life since then – specifically, challenging her chess hero and learning that Disney is preparing to produce a movie based on her life. Yes, Disney.

In conjunction with the “Girls & Women” initiative, ONE also offers its readers the chance to reach out to their Congressmen (at this time, to promote the Electrify Africa Act,) — an endeavor very much in line with The Borgen Project’s mission. In this way, ONE represents another agency using the power of advocacy to create measurable change. By shedding light on inspiring women and the issues that contribute to their poverty, ONE is working to make the world better for over half of its inhabitants.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: ONE, United Nations Development Programme
Photo: NBC News